The Benefits of Gusbandry - a comedic web series created by Alicia J. Rose, co-written by Courtenay Hameister.

At her debaucherous 40th birthday party, serial relationship-killer Jackie meets handsome and charming thirty-something River. Their ensuing adventures in self-medication, late-blooming, and questionable judgment lead them to discover a raucous new kind of “significant otherness”.

The first season of The Benefits of Gusbandry is made up of six short form episodes ( 8-16 minutes) that were released between September 2015 and April 2016 monthly via our YOUTUBE and VIMEO channels. As of November 2016 the entire season was re-released via Amazon Prime, Seed & Spark Cinema, VHX and Vimeo On Demand. The next 3 episodes, and start of season 2 are currently in pre-production with a projected release date of Summer/Fall 2017!

From Creator Alicia J. Rose:

Inspired by real-life relationships with my own “Gusbands” (a.k.a: gay best friends), The Benefits of Gusbandry brings to life Jackie and River - two one-of-a-kind characters approaching 40 and follows them as they find something special in one another, navigating the modern world with a no-punches-pulled comedic purview, and finding true love in a most unexpectedly platonic way.

Ever since my first bout of High School heartbreak, I have had Gusbands - a sweet gay man to let me cry on his shoulder, wreak havoc, take vacations and hide in bed with. There is something magical about the relationship between a woman and a gay man, that any woman with an LTG (long term Gusband) will tell you is ESSENTIAL to her life and general happiness.

As common as Gusbands are in real-life, there is a pitiful amount of contemporary representation in the media. The Benefits of Gusbandry takes advantage of the DIY aspect of the digital series format to deliver a fresh and uncensored comedic take on this relationship through bite-size episodes perfect for binge-watching in traffic, on your phone or in bed while avoiding work.

The spark of inspiration for The Benefits of Gusbandry eluded me until I came under the spell of the Rebel Heart Filmmaking Workshop, a two day intensive led by badass writer/director Diane Bell. On a last minute whim, I enrolled, and by the end of the two days I left with the following things rattling through my brain: DON'T LEAVE PORTLAND, THE STORY IS INSIDE YOU, VULNERABILITY IS EVERYTHING. So, I decided to make something that plumbed a subject matter near and dear to my heart - the relationship between me and my Gusbands. Though I have been prone to serial Gusbandry since High School, its the relationship with my current Guz - Lago that really inspired the series. Our recent "Goneymoon" to Thailand, endless insane nights out on the town, all the amazing meals he cooks for me...maybe it was all those couples massages in Thailand that got me thinking… What started as an Instagram hashtag of pride used on the day we woke at dawn to bask in the sunrise at Angkor Wat - #TheBenefitsofGusbandry inspired the stories I now get to share with you in The Benefits of Gusbandry.